Millwall boss saw positives in scoreless Dons draw

MILLWALL boss Neil Harris felt his side didn’t show enough attacking composure to break down AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night.

Shane Ferguson and Fred Onyedinma had the Lions’ best chances as the Dons were reduced to 10 men when Jon Meades was sent off with 16 minutes left, but Neal Ardley’s side remained compact to win a point.

And Harris credited the away side for their performance.

He said: “They defended very well, that’s for sure. We had a lot of crosses and corners towards the end. What we didn’t do was use the ball as well as we did last week against Bristol Rovers.

“We tried to force it too often when we could have made an extra pass and been more composed. When we did we got into excellent areas in wide positions.

“We tried to force it and it broke down. We couldn’t build that momentum. I hoped we’d camp in their half with 10 minutes to go but a couple of times we gave it away too cheaply.

“But the boys gave it away cheaply trying to do the right thing. There were a couple of times when we tried to do the right things but, surprisingly, technique let us down.

“My players understand that and strive to be better all the time.”

With Steve Morison and Lee Gregory out, Harris played Harry Smith and Aiden O’Brien up front and admitted the pair needed more help from midfield.

“When you’ve got so many youngsters as options unless you let people bed in and give them a bit of time then it’s hard,” Harris said.

“We saw at various times players in different positions. Aiden was trying ever so hard to come and link the play and give us the extra pass, and then we’d go a bit longer and Harry would win the header but Aiden wasn’t quite there.

“That’s not only down to Aiden, that’s down to other players to make forward runs if he’s helping them out.

“I saw a lot of good things but also saw a lot that we need to work on on the training ground.”